The Brooklyn Rail

JUL-AUG 2021

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JUL-AUG 2021 Issue
Poetry

four from field recordings of mind in morning


it matters to

some one

& that is

enough


what is the

present

things appear

in relation


the young dog runs the hills & far across the pasture

a neighbor & his boy arrive at dusk to shoot deer & coyote

somewhat far away a poet-friend’s heart is racing

an aunt & her nephews fight over who deserves her mother’s money

this is the way that twisted karma always plays out

gray day little sunlight but the clouds do not disappoint


what is the present

things appear

in relation


“Or, when you want to keep spring or autumn as it is,

reflect that it has no unchanging nature.” <877>

                        12/23/18









within the surrounding

silence it is

there


as if an

immigrant

to the word

as if it were

never

something you

knew


sun shines  & over time

you have become

this thing

at once

transparent  &

exactly present



“Listen until you understand.” <880>

                        1/17/19









the bread  above all

the bread

home found in

nouns

head  heart  hand

the breath  &

its imaginings

of rain clouds

of spoken so

set of sounds

miraculous complex

dexterity of the human

tongue insistent

upon difference by

place  the joy

of saying so



“Love of enjoyment is a gate of realizing dharma;

it keeps the heart pure.” <898>

                        3/13/19

                        Paris









today i awaken & my heart is full

before the city awakens  before the light embraces the heavy buildings

today i awaken & my heart is full

with the pain of the thousands of names on the shoah memorial walls

today i awaken & my heart is full

for a quiet time  a rest in time  this sabbath time

today i awaken & my heart is full

in the quiet upstairs of the boulangerie where i can write & savor a good piece of bread

today i awaken & my heart is full

for the young musicians playing their tribute to Coltrane in a sacred cave

today i awaken & my heart is full

with love & admiration for my friend in his apartment packed with books

today i awaken & my heart is full





“Now sit steadfastly & think not-thinking.” <908>


                        3/6/19

                        Paris

                        5:58 AM

Contributor

Hank Lazer

Hank Lazer’s poems in the Brooklyn Rail are from his forthcoming book field recordings of mind in morning (BlazeVOX), which will include links to musical improvisations with composer and banjo player Holland Hopson. Lazer has published thirty-one books of poetry, including COVID 19 SUTRAS (2020, Lavender Ink), Slowly Becoming Awake (N32) (2019, Dos Madres Press), Poems That Look Just Like Poems (2019, PURH – one volume in English, one in French), Evidence of Being Here: Beginning in Havana (N27), (2018, Negative Capability Press), and Thinking in Jewish (N20) (2017, Lavender Ink). In 2015, Lazer received Alabama’s most prestigious literary prize, the Harper Lee Award, for lifetime achievement in literature.

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The Brooklyn Rail

JUL-AUG 2021

All Issues